A Failed Experiment
by Jauntues Tigerwolf
Summary: Cobra made us to be a part of their army. They couldn't control us, though. When they saw that they couldn't make us do the things they wanted, they tortured us. Tried to make us crack. They soon gave up, so they locked us up in cages and left us to rot. We managed to escape, several years later. I will get back at them though, I just need a chance.
1. Chapter 1- The Renegades

__**Disclaimer- I do not own G.I. Joe Renegades. I do own my Oc's.**

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I never liked going to town, especially during the day . I tried to avoid it at all costs, but today was not my day. Out of everyone else, they chose me to go to the store and buy an item. It wasn't the shopping that bothered me. It was the people and the item I had to buy.

The people in the town hate us. They fear what we are, but if they saw me now, they wouldn't know the difference between me and a 'normal' person. I had to snort at the thought though. They do the same thing with Cobra, except instead of hating them, they adore Cobra.

Cobra made us to be a part of their army. They mixed animal DNA with our DNA. There were many tests and many died. When they finally got it right and successfully changed us. They couldn't control us. When they saw that they couldn't make us do the things they wanted, they tortured us. Tried to make us crack. They soon gave up, so they locked us up in cages and left us to rot. We managed to escape... several years later. We fled to the forests of Illinois and we still live here to this day. I will get back at them though, I just need a chance.

The point was that Cobra made us what we are. What the towns people call 'freaks' or 'savages'. I shook my head to rid myself of harsher insults and focused on the item I had to buy: medication.

Most of the kids have come down with a sort of serious fever. The side effects aren't just burning up. The burning up is combined with chills. Chills and fever do not mix. The fever makes your skin feel so hot, but the chills make you feel like you will never be warm enough. So while you are burning hot on the outside, you are shaking badly from cold that freezes on the inside. The herbs in the woods didn't have an effect on the fever, we had no choice but to buy medication. The only medicine manufactures in this town, however, is Cobra.

I tried to putting away my anger with reason, 'Come on. This is for them, the kids.' I took a deep breath, pushed the door in, and entered the store. A bell jingled, letting everyone know of my presence. I stepped forward and a movement caught my eye. I looked up and saw a small television. There was a sign next to it. "Smile, you're on camera." I rolled my eyes, but took a second look at myself on the screen. My disguise was perfect by the townspeople standards; an eighteen year old girl wearing tan cargo pants, a white shirt, a slightly baggy jacket with the hood over her head, and black hair peeking from under the hood. I missed the familiar feeling of a bow and quiver slung over my shoulder and a hunting knife at my hip. I had left them near the beginning of the wood.  
I smiled, looking at the bright side, the disguise was a good thing. If anyone saw me with my hood off, I had no doubt that someone would not hesitate to shoot me with no questions asked.

I went all the way to the back of the store to the pharmacy. Most, if not all, of the pharmacists were standing around different shelves with clipboards, taking a bottle down, looking at the label, then writing something down. I approached the counter and one of the pharmacists looked at me, put down her clip board, and walked over to me.

"Hello, do you have to pick up any medication?"

"Um, no. I don't. I just have a question." I said.

The woman nodded and smiled.

"My kids have an illness, it's like a fever, but it has a side effect of chills. I don't need a prescribed medication, but I don't know what medication to choose."

"I see, have your kids seen a doctor?"

"No, it's not entirely serious. One of my friends kids had the same thing, but they were older than mine." I lied.

The pharmacist nodded again. "I see. How old are your children?"

"Between the ages 5-10." I answered. "The fever is about 105 degrees."

The pharmacist was taken aback when I gave the ages, but she composed herself. "You will need acetaminophen. You could also use ibuprofen as well. Those are medications are in those shelves over there. The instructions are on the box."

I thanked her and she smiled, before taking up her clip board again. I sighed in relief that she hadn't asked me why I was wearing my hood. I quickly located the pills and looked at both of the recommended medications. As far as I could tell the only difference between the two was that ibuprofen made you drowsy. I kept looking back and forth between the two, but then I just took two boxes of each kind. I headed to the front of the store and put my stuff on the conveyor belt. A man came up behind me breathing a little ragged. I smelled alcohol in his breath.

"Hey there sweetheart, never seen you around before." He slurred.

"I don't live around here, so I don't come here very often." I replied dully.

"Why don't you take off the hood so I can see that pretty face of yours."

I was disgusted by the man. He was at least twice my age and he was trying to hit on me. 'The man is drunk...' I thought. 'No difference. It is still disgusting.'

"I think you have had a little too much to drink sir." I replied carefully. I had no idea who this man was or how he was when he drank.

The man looked like he was trying to figure out my response when the cashier called my forward.

I calmly walked forward as she scanned my items.

"Why are you wearen' that hood for?" The man slurred behind me.

"Bad hair cut." I said. Why was this drunk being so nosey? "Sir, I would appreciate it if you would stop asking me questions."

"That will be twenty dollars and ninety-five cents." The cashier intervened when the drunk opened his mouth.

I handed her thirty dollars.

"I was about to ask where you lived. You said you didn't live 'round here. I could give you a ride home." The man said, grinning nastily.

"Errol, the girl doesn't want to be pestered. Leave her alone like she asked." The cashier said nonchalantly.

'If she is saying it like that...then this must happen often.' I thought.

"I'm sorry Margret. I am just having trouble believing... that this is just an ordinary girl!"

I felt a hand seize me roughly by the hood and a hard tug. Cold air hit my face and the cashier screamed, still holding onto my change.

My cover was blown. I quickly grabbed the medications, shoved them into my jacket pocket, grabbed my change from her hand, and ran for the door. As soon as I put my hand on the door, there was a loud 'pop' and the glass window to my right shattered. I looked behind me. The drunk man had drawn a 9 mm. gun from somewhere on his person. I glanced up and saw my true self. It was the same ordinary girl with a white shirt, tan cargo pants, black jacket, and black hair. The only differences were her eyes and ears. Where normal ears would be, there was medium length hair, on the top of her head were large, black, furry, pointed ears. When normal eyes would be blue brown, or even green, her eyes were a steely gray.

'That is you. That is why they hate you. That is why you must run now!" My brain screamed.

I flung my hood back on and pulled the door in and ran outside. I made it ten yards away from the store when more gunshots sounded. A car window shattered to my left and the man on the handicap sign suddenly had a hole in his head. I was five yards away from the store. Ten yards away. I was in the middle of the parking lot, but then a huge truck was suddenly on my right.

Brakes screeched, gunshots continued, the cashier was still screaming something. So much was going on at one time. I was so confused. I jumped at the last second away from the truck. I landed on my side, adrenaline making me shake. There was a noise to my left and I looked up. There was a man in all black, a silver mask covered the part of his face where his eyes would be. I wanted to say on the floor and stare, but the sound of a gun being cocked made me come back to my senses. I jumped to my feet and ran as fast as I could. There were two more gunshots then shouting.

"THAT'S RIGHT YOU FREAK! KEEP RUNNING! DON"T COME BACK HERE YOU HEAR! YOU HEAR ME YOU FREAKY WOLF BI-"

I covered my ears. I didn't need to hear any more of the drunks insult. I had heard that phrase so many times, it was like everyone's insults were stuck on the same broken record.

I had run for another three hundred yards until I finally reached the tree line where I had left my gear. I pulled out my bow and quiver. I slung the latter across my shoulder, I kept my bow in hand in case anyone of those people decided they wanted to try and follow me. I moved the bush a little and found my hunting knife. I strapped the knife to my waist, then I took off my hood. I swiveled my ears around, making them lie flat on the top of my head, then making then stand upright. I checked behind me, satisfied that nobody was there, then walked into the shadowy comfort of the trees.

It is a three-mile hike from where I was to get back to 'The Treehouse'. Most people would find the trail difficult to see, much less follow. When you look at it, a lot of the trail is covered with leaves and fallen trees. The once smooth dirt path is now almost indistinguishable from the rest of the forest. I took a deep breath, enjoying the scent of wet moss, old bark, damp earth, and just plain fresh air. Despite the incident that had happened not ten minuets ago, I felt great. The forest always made me feel that way. I enjoyed another long deep breath, then ran headlong on the trail.

I was so used to running with a bow and quiver, that they no longer hindered my movement. I sprinted through piles of leaves and sprang easily over rotten logs. The thrill of just running through the woods, where nobody was following me and trying to hurt me, was freeing and exhilarating.

Two miles in I stopped at the small stream that ran through the forest and grabbed a couple of handfuls of water. My ears swiveling around enjoying the soft rushing of the water. My left ear suddenly detected the softest foot fall. I whipped out an arrow and notched it into the bow. I pulled my left arm back and aimed for the source of the noise. Ten seconds pasted, then fifteen. Finally a delicate head peered from behind a wide bush. It was a doe. It tiptoed to the streams edge then slowly started to drink. I checked the wind. It was blowing to my side, I was down wind. I kept the arrow notched and aimed for the heart. I could feel my heart slow, my focus on the deer. I was about to release the arrow when I heard a loud 'Twang!' An arrow flew just a little to the left of the deer's front leg. The deer jumped into the air and kicked its heels. I let my arrow fly, it struck true and buried itself deep into the deers side. It stumbled forward, then fell dead.

"A good kill. I should have focused more." A familiar voice said behind me.

"You loose your focus, you loose your kill, Raider." I replied.

Raider is my best friend. Her real name is Rita, but we prefer our 'tribe' names. When we were held by Cobra, we shared a cell. We have a lot in common. We both have the same kind of ears, but her hair and fur color is tinged red. When we got out with the others we all sort of formed a tribe. We all knew almost everything about one another and we did almost nothing alone. Raider, out of everyone else though, is my partner in almost everything I do.

"So, Mimic, how was the shopping trip?"

"Not as well as I thought it would go. Some drunk pulled my hood, saw...me, and shot at me."

Raider frowned, but smiled again. "Well, it's okay. You got what you went for right?"

I dug in my pockets and pulled out three boxes, I looked for the fourth before I vaguely realized that it had fallen out of my pocket when I jumped out-of-the-way of the truck.

"I had four, but this huge truck came out of nowhere. I had to dive to get out-of-the-way."

A truck... Was this truck big and grey. The same size as a cobra truck though."

"I...guess. Why?"

"The scout team heard some news in town. There is a group of renegade soldiers on the run in that kind of vehicle."

I nodded thoughtfully. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Their looks are on the wall if you want to see the pictures. I have to ask though, why didn't you just morph and run? It would have been a shorter trip."

"Wasn't thinking straight. Beside's running in the woods in this form keeps me in shape." I joked.

"Ha. Anyway, you should head over to the infirmary, deliver the meds. I can skin the deer and bring it back."

"Thanks." I said. I hurried to 'The Treehouse'. The Treehouse isn't really just a house. It should be called Tree Village, but when we first found it, it was only a single house. When I got to the base of the main tree, I perfectly imitated the call of a robin. To most people it is just another bird call. What they didn't know, robins don't live in Illinois. A long ladder was immediately dropped. I slung my bow over my shoulder and I climbed three hundred feet up.

"Hello Watcher." I said once I reached the top. Watcher smiled and nodded at me before pulling up the ladder.

"Heard the news, Mimic?" He asked me.

"The renegade soldier news? Yeah, Raider told me by the stream. We bagged a pretty good-sized doe just now."

"Well you're caught up to speed then." He said. "Good job on the kill too. That's dinner for tonight."

I nodded then continue to the infirmary. I passed by the bulletin board and glimpsed the renegades.

'I can get a closer look when I deliver this.'

When I finally reached the infirmary, my sister ,Feather, greeted me then took the medication from me. She quickly scanned the back of the boxes then opened one. She let out a 'hoot' then three other women came and each took several pills from her. They all went down the row of children, making sure they swallowed it and didn't spit it out. I stood there, feeling useless now. My sister knew how to coax kids into taking medication. Me? Not so much.

Maybe it is my sister's wise eyes that they trusted compared to my cold grey ones. Or maybe it was the way her face was structured. She has soft cheek angles, most of her face was not ruined by the experiments. Only the top of her head was covered in soft russet feathers, they didn't make her the least bit ugly. They blended into her hair quite nicely, even if some feathers spiked up a little to make the famed 'owl horns'.

Once all the kids had taken the medication, everyone settled down and Feather came over to me.

"Thanks, Kaycie. You got this pretty quickly."

"No problem, Yvonne. It's enough right?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it. Now that they've taken the medication, they should get better soon."

I continued to stare at the kids. My sisters eyes softened, she knew my weak spot for kids.

"You know, Chrissie has been waiting for you. She was saying something about an adventure?"

I looked up and smiled. Chrissie is Feather's adopted daughter and she is my niece. She was experimented on with us, most of the others were like that too. That was the one good thing Cobra did for us all, keep us together. Chrissie is a fox. She is sill very much human, it's just that Cobra's tests had more of an effect on the children. If taught right, not only could they turn into a specific animal, like the adults, they kept a lot of physical appearances when still in human form. Chrissie had more that Feather and I did combined. She had ears, a tail, and her feet were paws. Her hands and arms had the same kind of build a fox leg would have, long and skinny; but she is the cutest and most sweet-tempered child you will ever meet. Feather shooed me out of the infirmary and I started to our shared house. I made a quick stop at the bullion board and looked at the pictures at the renegade soldiers. They didn't look like murderers, but you can never tell by just a picture. I memorized their looks, then again headed to our house.

I wasn't even at the door when little six-year-old Chrissie burst through the front door screaming "Aunty Kaycie! Aunty Kaycie! Uncle Sidearms look it's Aunty Kaycie!"

Sidearms was my brother. He was running after Chrissie, his big gray wings streaming out behind him. For some reason, I was the only one in the family beside Chrissie, that wasn't a bird. Our mom and dad had been experimented on, they were human and died trying to protect us from being taken for the experiments.

"Hi Aunty Kaycie! Did you make it to the store?"

"Yes, I made it to the store." I said lifting her up into the air, making her giggle with glee.

"Are we still going on the adventure?"

"Of course we are going on the adventure! Did you thing I would forget?" I cooed

I didn't get an answer because my brother started tickling her, making her giggles turn to shrieks of laughter. I put Chrissie down and greeted my brother. My brother eyed my clothes.

"Let your Aunty Kaycie get changed then you can go. Okay?"

"Okay, Uncle Sidearms."

I nodded thanks to my brother then rushed inside to my room, unslinging the quiver and bow before throwing off the uncomfortable clothes. I pulled on a black T-shirt and pulled on some pants that we had grabbed a long time ago from some army surplus store. They have lots of pockets and they are comfortably loose. I grabbed the baggy jacket and threw that on again. The jacket was actually pretty comfortable. I grabbed my bow and quiver before heading outside again.

"Okay kiddo, let's go!"

"Yay!" Chrissie yelled, she jumped up and down in excitement.

"Do you have your things Chrissie?" Sidearms asked her.

Chrissie went silent for a moment and thought. "Oh yeah!" She ran and disappeared inside the house for a moment then came out with a small bow and quiver full if arrows.

"Okay now I'm ready."

I smiled and ruffled her hair. "We'll be back before nightfall." I told Sidearms.

He nodded. "Have a good time."

Chrissie held my hand and we walked back to Watcher.

"Back so soon?" Watcher asked.

"We'er going on an adventure!" Chrissie said.

Watcher chuckled and released the rope ladder. I went on first and Chrissie went on after me. She made it all the way down with a single word. She used to be extremely scared. She kept on thinking that she would fall, but after practicing a few times she was as fast as a monkey.

Once we reached the bottom, Chrissie was looking around excitedly.

"Where are we going to practice?" She asked.

"Well, let's practice your bow skills okay?"

She nodded profusely. "Aunty, can we morph. It would be faster...wight?"

I smiled and nodded. I closed my eyes for a moment, concentrating hard on my form and when I opened them I was staring at a small orange fox. I looked down, I was on all fours, my hands and feet had turned into familiar large black paws. I looked behind me, yep there was my tail. I gave it a wag.

"Let's go!" Chrissie yipped, pulling my attention away from my tail.

In our forms, normal people can't hear us speak. They just hear grunts and growls, but we can understand them, as normal animals, just fine. It's kind of strange, but useful.

Chrissie ran in front of me, her legs were so short, however, I only had do jog behind her. I gave a playful 'woof' and dipped down scooping her up, so that she was now riding on my neck. She barked in delight. I started running faster and faster. The bow that was slung over my shoulder was now over my chest and my quiver was slung just across on the other side. The two strings making an X across my chest. It didn't take long to reach the archery range I had made for Chrissie and myself. Feather doesn't know this though. She would rather have Chrissie not know how to use a bow, but Sidearms and I think the sooner she knows the better. With all the people who want or may want to kill her for something that is not her fault, I think she should know these kind of things. Chrissie slid off my back and morphed into her human form.

"That was really fun, Aunty! Can we do that again on the way back?" Her eyes wide and shining.

I morphed back before answering. "Sure."

"Yes!" She yelled.

"Let's start practicing. Yeah?"

"Okay, Aunty."

"Do you remember the five rules of any shooting weapon?" I asked.

"Yes." She answered.

"Okay tell me."

"One," she started. "Treat the thing that you awe shooting is pointed in a safe direction. Two; always point it downrange. Three; don't point the thing you awe shooting at any thing that you don't want to hit. Four; know you target. Five, know what is behind your target."

"Very good." I said, ruffling her hair. "Now I want you to draw the bow. Remember, you can pull the bow with either hand. Which ever one is the most comfortable for you."

"How do you draw yours again Aunty?"

I took the bow off of my shoulder and fit an arrow into the string. I drew it back. I am a left-handed shooter and I draw the bow back with my left hand and my palm facing away from my face. I looked back at Chrissie, she was studying my form. She grabbed her own bow and quiver from her backpack and looked at me again. She positioned herself exactly like me. I released the tension from the bow.

"Are you comfortable like that?" I asked, purely curious. There are not may people who shoot left-handed and I wouldn't want her to shoot in a way that makes her uncomfortable, just for my approval.

"Yes." She answered.

"Are you sure? Promise?"

"Promise." She said "It feels more comfortable than how I held it last time."

I chuckled and drew my bow. "Okay, now. I want you to aim at that target in the middle. Just like we have practiced before."

"Okay." She said. She took a deep breath and stood very still for a moment. Then her bow gave a sharp 'twang' when she released it. The arrow hit the target. It had itself lodged into the middle ring. I took a deep breath and focused on the middle of the target. When I was ready I released the arrow. My aim was true, the arrow gave a satisfying 'thunk' in the center of the target.

"Wow!" Chrissie said admiringly, then her face fell a little. " I didn't do that."

"It's okay." I said encouragingly . "I have had lot's and lot's of practice. It took a long time, don't be sad.

Chrissie looked up and smiled. "Okay."

She took aim again and breathed slowly. Then she took a deep breath, held it, the released the arrow. It flew from the bow and buried itself a few inches down from her last arrow and closer to the middle of the target. Chrissie smiled and took out another arrow. She took aim for the third time and this time she didn't take as long as the other two times to focus and release the arrow. This time the arrow lodged itself in the outside part of the center dot of the target.

She gave a yip of glee and looked at me. I smiled and gave her a big hug. I released her and moved her to a different spot and asked her to shoot different targets. Her aim was very good. We had to practice for about an hour before we took a break.

"You're doing very well." I said.

Chrissie beamed "Thank you."

"I was thinking... maybe we should go on an extra special adventure today."

Her eyes widen "Really?"

"Yes." I said. "I think that today we should put your better aim to the test. How would you feel about...hunting?"

She hesitated and stared at me. "Like...like... to kill bunny rabbits and deer?"

I nodded hesitantly, maybe I had asked too soon. I was just going to start small, only hunting rabbits and then getting to deer later on. While rabbits were harder to shoot, their eyes didn't look as sad as deers eyes do once they glaze over in death.

"I don't... I don't."

"It's okay if you don't want to do it. We can just keep practicing with the targets." I said.

"No! I want to do it Aunty. I just...don't think I can hit them. I will miss all the time."

"Why do you think that? You hit all the targets almost in the center."

"What if they move?"

"It's okay. There is more than one rabbit in the forest silly." I assured her, gently tweaking her nose.

She giggled. "Okay. If I miss though will you try to get it?"

"No, it will be all you." I told her.

She looked a bit concerned, but after thinking for a few moments she nodded and we left the practice range. We ventured into the forest. I saw some rabbits and pointed them out to her. I had her give me her backpack while she prepared herself. She stayed very quiet as she prepared her bow to shoot. When she was ready, she pulled the string back and released. The arrow zoomed close to the rabbits, but none of them were hit. All the rabbits fled and hid themselves in bushes and in their dens.

Chrissie looked a little disappointed, but she cheered up right away and followed me to a different part of the forest. It was another hour later when she finally bagged her first rabbit.

It was a single fat rabbit eating grass out in the open. I pointed it out to Chrissie and she nodded. She notched an arrow into her bow and drew it slowly. Her eyes focused on the rabbit, still unaware of our presence. She took three slow deep breaths and pulled the bow-string harder. She took another deep breath and let it out slowly. In the middle of releasing that breath, she let her arrow fly. The arrow wasn't even visible as it streaked toward the rabbit and buried itself into the rabbits side. the impact of the arrow pushed the rabbit a few inch from where it had sat.

It took Chrissie a second to register that she had successfully killed the rabbit, but when she did she let out a whoop of joy. She hugged me and squeezed tight.

"Did you see that Aunty! Did you see that! I did it! I did it!" She celebrated. She was so excited that she morphed into her fox form and started kicking up her heels and jumping everywhere.

I went to congratulate her and calm her down a little when there was suddenly a metallic 'snap!' and Chrissie's loud yelp of hurt. I threw everything behind a bush and rushed over to her side. A metal hunters trap had sprung and clamped down on Chrissie's paw. I tried to pry the jaws open. Luckily the metal jaws on the trap where flat, they were meant to hold the animal in place without hurting it as much as spiked jaws would. I pulled and pulled, but I couldn't get the trap open. Chrissie started to whimper in pain. I felt her leg bone and why I could of her paw. Nothing seems to be broken or fractured. I was starting to panic. I looked up at the sky. It about three o'clock. I couldn't howl for help, it was too early. If anyone other than one of the tribe, there would be trouble.

I tried again to pry the trap open, but to no avail. I morphed into my wolf form.

"Aunty what is this thing. It hurts a lot!" Chrissie whimpered.

My heart cracked. "It's a trap. Left by some hunter." I told her.

"Am I going to die?" Chrissie asked me.

"No!" I growled. "I won't allow it. I will protect you! I promise."

"You won't leave me will you?" She asked me, terror plain on her face.

Every bone in my body told me to run, to get help, and hope she would still be here. "No. Not if I can help it." I said.

I licked her trapped leg and curled up next to her. She lay next to my, her head rest on my side. "Once the sun starts to set. I will howl. I can get help to come to us." I told her.

She nodded, but then grimaced and flattened her ears in pain. I whined and tenderly licked her ear. She sniffed and together we waited for nightfall.

It was only fifteen minuets later I heard a twig snap, then voices.

"What is your friend doing?" A male voice said.

"He must have heard something. Snake eyes doesn't go taking off somewhere without a purpose" A female voice said.

"Well, I don' mind. I am findin' all kinds of things. Most of them better than Roadblock's cookin'." A different male voice said.

"My cookin' isn't that bad, Tunnel Rat." A deep voice sounded.

I felt Chrissie start shaking. I nuzzled her and then stood up, waiting for the people to emerge from the bush. They didn't come out, but something fell from a tree a few yards away.

I whirled around a was a surprised by what I saw. It was the man that I had seen back at the store! I was sure of it. Who else had I ever seen wearing all back and a silver eye piece.

I peeled my lips back, showing glittering canines and snarled loudly. He put out his hand and slowly edged toward me. I may have seen him before, but I didn't trust him in the slightest. I growled and snarled louder,as he got even closer.

He continued inching forward, his and held out for me to smell. I barked savagely, my eyes wide, ears erect, fangs gleaming, and head held high. I rushed at the black clothed man when I heard a yell.

"Watch out!"

I was hit hard on the side and found myself on the ground with a blond man kneeling over me. One of his hands was around my muzzle an his other was holding my neck. He pressed down and pinned me to the floor.

I struggled and thrashed wildly. He lost his grip for a second and that was all I needed. i slipped out from under him and ran back toward Chrissie.I stopped just in front of her and wheeled about to face the two men. I studied them more closely then realized that the blond that had held me down was one of the renegade soldiers from the poster!

I growled savagely at both of them. The blond took a step back, but the man in black threw something and foul-smelling smoke spread rapidly. The smoke was terrible. It filled my nostrils and burned my eyes. I was again sacked and pinned onto the ground. Chrissie was crying out in confusion and fear. Her barks were full of fear. I tried to struggle under the weight that held me down. This weight, however, was much heavier than the last. The smoke slowly started to clear and I saw the person who was holding me down. The man was huge, he looked like a giant, even compared to the blond that I had seen earlier.

"Easy there, we aren't goin' to hurt you." The huge man said.

"Roadblock! Do you have a good hold on the wolf?" The blond called.

"Yeah, Duke." The huge man, apparently called Roadblock, answered.

From my place on the floor, I couldn't see Chrissie. I could hear her though.

"Aunty! Aunty!" She barked.

""I'm okay! Don't panic!" I barked back.

I heard her whine and the drawing of metal. I heard Chrissie whimper and then bark defiantly. I then heard the swish of a blade and the sharp snap of metal. Chrissie barked again then fell silent.

I barked. "Chrissie!"

"Aunty Kaycie!" She barked back.

I struggled again, but to no avail.

"Aunty they are taking me! Where are they taking me!" She cried.

"Chrissie! No matter what I will come for you! I will find you!" I howled.

One of the other men said something to the blond called 'Duke' showing him some herbs in his hand. Duke looked in my direction nodded.

"Better hurry up with those plants Tunnel Rat." Roadblock said.

The man with the herbs or 'Tunnel Rat' knelt down in front of me. I looked him straight in the eyes. He hesitated a moment before rubbing the plants on my nose.

I didn't breath in, but once he was done and I took a tentative sniff, I started to feel woozy. Things started to go out of focus and dim. I tried to shake my head and clear it, but I was being held to tightly. Things blurred even more. Then they went black.

...

"Mimhwhe wakaere une...Mimree warke ure...Mimic! Mimic wake up!"

My eyes opened at once. I got up and whipped around. It was Sidearms.

"Mimic where is Chrissie!"

"Trap, renegades, Chrissie...GONE!" I growled. I morphed back into my human form. "There was a trap, Chrissie got her foot stuck in it. Then the renegade solders came...one of them wasn't on the poster. They freed her and took her! Sidearms, we have to tell the elders. We have to get her back!"

Sidearms looked stunned then he nodded. He helped me up. I stumbled a bit, but then righted myself. I grabbed my stuff and Sidearms grabbed Chrissie's backpack and gear. My brother flew and I ran all the way back to The Treehouse. My brother was able to bypass the ladder and sound an emergency call. I raced up the ladder that Watcher had immediately dropped down when he saw me running.

"What's the rush?" Watcher asked me.

"No time just get to the meeting center!"

He looked worried and started hauling the ladder up. I ran to the meeting center and waited for everyone to come. It didn't take very long. Within two minuets the entire tribe had gathered to the center.

"Everyone! Please listen to me!" I shouted above the hum of the crowd. They all quieted immediately. "Chrissie was taken by the renegades. I don't know where the have taken her, but I know that they have probably taken her into the town."

"How did this happen." asked a quavering voice. I turned around. It was my sister Feather.

"I...I was teaching her how to hunt. She made a kill and went to check it. She morphed into her form ,in her happiness, and stepped in an unmarked trap." I looked down. "I couldn't get her free." I said softly. "The the renegades came. I tried to fight them off, but I failed. They got her out of the trap, but then they took her. Yvonne, I'm so sorry."

My sister stared at me in disbelief. I was the oldest of my family and I had put young Chrissie in the worst position possible.

"Well, what do you plan to do?" Said a voice behind us. I turned and the elders, Grayeyes, Ironfang, Curvedbeak, Broadhoof, and Silverclaw, were standing at the entrance to the center.

"I plan to get her back, Elder Grayeyes." I said.

"How are you going to do that?" Elder Ironfang asked.

"I will storm into the town myself if I have too. But if they are willing, I ask everyone in the clan to help me in this effort. The townspeople will not be keen on giving her back and I expect they will use deadly force." I said.

The elders stood quietly.

"Well I am not just about to let my niece be held captive by the people who hate us most!" My brother said, standing by my side and facing the Elders. Raider pushed past everyone and stood by my side with Sidearms.  
Others agreed and started stepping forward.  
"Are you all willing to risk our lives for Mimic's mistake and young Chrissie's life?" Elder Ironfang asked, his voice no more than a whisper.

"We are." Everyone behind me and on my side murmured.

"Luckily you will not have to search every house. One of our own resides in the town. he has told me that young Chrissie is being held in the house just a few hundred yards away from the market. It has the number 54 clearly set in brass. You will set out by the cover of night. The darkness shall be your ally." Elder Broadhoof said.

With that the elders left and everyone left my side to prepare for our attack.

Feather walked up to me and grabbed my arm. "Promise me you will bring her back."

I looked straight into her pain and worry filled eyes. "I promise." I stated gravely.

She released my arm and I walked to our house and walked straight into my room. I shut the door behind me and found my stuff leaning against the walls along with Chrissie's. I placed my hand on top of Chrissie's bag. I turned to my bed and started to push it to the side. I lifted the loose board and there lay my old gear.

I took out my retractable spear. Right now it was only a foot long. Once extended though it was five feet long with an arrow like blade at the end. It was also able to spit in half and become twin blades. But I hadn't used it since Cobra had issued it to me. But tonight, if need be, it would serve it's purpose.

I grabbed the clothes that were on the bottom as well. A black long-sleeved shirt, lose black pants, and a black wolf mask. I quickly dressed and fit the mask over my face I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked as black as a shadow. The mask was a nice touch to my appearance. The mask didn't have ears, but my ears made up for that. I erected my ears, making the mask look impressively intimidating.

I traveled back to the entrance. Watcher wasn't there. I sat cross-legged and waited for everyone else. I looked at the sky. The sun was setting.

I whispered to the setting sun. "I'm coming for you Chrissie. I'll be there soon. Just hold on."

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**Thanks for reading chapter one! Please leave a review, whether it be; praise, criticism, flames, or corrections. Thanks again!**


	2. Chapter 2- The Rescue

**Disclaimer- I do not own G.I. Joe Renegades.**

**A/N- I wanted to give a BIG thanks to my reviewers; Winterhalt, SunsetRandom, and SpawnofCthulhu. Thanks for being the first to review this story and inspiring me to write the second chapter. For those of the Shadow- May shadows hide you and darkness keep you safe. For those of the Light- May the sun light your path and its rays shine through you.**

**Remember readers your reviews to count, but nonetheless, on with the story.**

* * *

(While Mimic was unconscious)

Duke placed his hand over the little fox's muzzle and held it still. It was clearly afraid, its eyes were wide and shaking horribly.

'Well, who wouldn't after almost being a wolf snack?' He thought to himself.

"Okay, uh now what do we do?" Tunnel Rat asked looking from the huge black wolf to the tiny fox kit.

"Well, we should probably get this little thing checked out. Make sure its paw isn't broken or fractured." Roadblock said, he took the kit from Duke and held it out in front of him. It looked at him in the eyes still looking terrified. Roadblock shifted the fox kit so he could hold it in one of his massive hands and started rubbing its stomach. At first the little fox just stared with all fours in the air. Then it put on a little grin and wagged its tail a little.

"See it's just a friendly little bundle of fur." Roadblock laughed.

"Hey, lemme see." Tunnel Rat said, gently taking the kit from the larger man. He held it out in front of him and stared at it. It stared back and it wagged its bushy tail.

"Okay boys, lets just let it go. It seem fine." Scarlett said.

"No, it needs to be checked first." Roadblock answered.

Scarlett sighed.

"There was an animal hospital back at the town. It wouldn't take long to just check it in and ask." Duke admitted.

"Fine." Scarlett huffed, heading back to the Coyote.

Tunnel Rat was still holding the fox kit. It sniffed at him, scrunched up its nose, and sneezed.

"Nice." Tunnel Rat said sarcastically, using one hand to wipe the fox snot off his clothes.

Snake Eyes came over and motioned for Tunnel Rat to let him see the fox kit. Tunnel Rat handed the kit to Snake Eyes, who held out his hand for it to sniff before stroking its head lightly and heading toward the Coyote.

"Tunnel Rat, how long will it be out for?" Duke asked, motioning to the motionless wolf on the floor.

"For about an hour or so. Don' worry I didn't kill it." Tunnel Rat replied.

With one look back at the unconscious wolf, Duke slipped into the dense foliage with the others.

(...)

It didn't take long to get back to the town and check the little fox into the clinic. Since the fox wasn't a pet we didn't have to fill out a form. (Thank god).

"Okay boys, we've gone our good deed for the day, we can leave now." Scarlett suggested again.

"Come on Scarlett. Nobody knows who we are... yet. We could stay for one day, one day can't hurt. You know sleep in a proper bed for once." Tunnel Rat complained.

Scarlett didn't appreciate this suggestion, but after much angry whispering and hard glares, Scarlett finally gave in and agreed to stay one night, but one night only.

They checked into a local inn under fake identities and when they got into their rooms they all immediately flopped down into their beds, enjoying the soft mattress rather than the hard Coyote chairs.

(Meanwhile at the Animal Clinic.)

Gina couldn't believe her luck. Four people had just come into the clinic and handed in a fox. Of course what they didn't know was that this wasn't an ordinary fox.

Gina threw the kit into one of the small cages and locked the door. She peered thought the thin metal bars and a pair of watery amber eyes peered back. Such a pure look for an abomination so wicked.

Gina looked away and practically ran to the office phone. She dialed a number.

"Errol? It's Gina. You know those people you saw at the grocery store this morning? Yes, the ones that stopped you from shooting the girl. Well you will never guess what they just brought into the clinic... No, unfortunately... No, better... Come on no other guesses? Oh alright, they brought in one of their children... Fox... Yes, its. fine...Unharmed, just had a bit of a scare from one of your traps... Yes, it will be ready for you to pick up as soon as you get here... Do be careful though, I don't think the other savages will take it lightly that we have one of their...yes of course... Okay bye."

Gina hung the receiver up and went back to the cage that held the "fox".

"Alright devil spawn, you are going to a different place." Gina said, grabbing a carrying crate and literally shoving the fox kit in the case.

Chrissie's POV

I didn't know why the doctor lady, Ms. Gina, was being so mean. I was still in my fox form, but she seemed to know that I was human. I decided not to change into my human form because I didn't like Ms. Gina . She was calling me mean names and shoving me into one cage after another. It hurt a little, but I knew that I had to be tough, just like my Auntie Kaycie.

When Ms. Gina had shoved me into a very small cage, she carried me out to the front of the building. She just kept waiting in front of the parking lot and checking her watch every now and then. Were the people that had brought me here coming back to pick me up? No, the man she had been on the phone with was named Errol. I don't think any of the people that had taken me looked like an Errol.

After ten more minuets of waiting, a big pickup truck pulled into the parking lot and then a man came out.

"Hello Errol." Ms. Gina said.

"Gina." Errol said, nodding his head to her. "This the kid?"

Ms. Gina looked at me with narrowed eyes and nodded. She handed Mr. Errol my case and he put it in the passenger seat of his truck. His truck did not smell nice at all. It was very smelly and there were cans everywhere. I couldn't help scrunching up my nose and blowing air out of my nose. It took a little while to come to this big two story house where Mr. Errol pulled up into his driveway and got out of the car. He took my cage out of the seat and he carried me into the house-it smelled very funny- and past mean looking lady. He headed upstairs and then he opened up the cage and dumped me onto the floor.

"I already know what you are." He said, he looked very angry. "I want you to change into the freak form of yours.

I didn't do anything at this. I just stared at him and he just seemed to get angrier. "I'm not going to ask you again, you little monster, morph into that freak form of yours." He said in a very low voice.

I stared defiantly at him. He turned super angry. He raised his hand and before I could dodge it, he sharply smacked the left side of my snout. I was knocked off my feet and rolled to one side. I got back up, a little dazed. He repeated the command for me to morph, but again I refused. He smacked me again, this time on the right side of my snout, sending me rolling to the right.

I was starting to get scared. He was now yelling at me to change and he started hitting harder and more often. I still refused to morph. After about five more hits, he stopped and a strange gin spread on his face. He bent down to my level, paused, then smacked my sensitive nose sharply.

I couldn't help yelping. I rubbed my smarting nose with my paw. He smacked my paw out of the way and flicked my nose. The stinging pain returned, stronger this time. He was about to do it a third time when I finally did what he told me. I morphed into my human form. I curled up, my hands covering my nose, hoping he wouldn't start hitting me again.

"So, you finally get it, eh little devil?" He said.

I stared at him, I tried to make my eyes look like Aunt Kaycie's whenever she got mad. It must not have worked because he started to laugh at me, rather than getting scared like people did when Auntie Kaycie did it.

He grabbed my ear and twisted it painfully. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I still tried to do the angry stare. All that did though was make him twist my ear even more. I stopped trying to do the angry stare.

"Good, you learn quick." Mr. Errol said. "You learn quick who your master is."

"You aren't my master. I am free born!" I yelled back. This outburst, however, only earned me a slap across the face.

"Free born." Mr. Errol said scornfully. "You are only free when I say you are."

I stared at him. "My Auntie Kaycie will get me, she told me so herself. When she comes she is going to kick your butt!"

He raised his hand and I couldn't help but cringe. The sting of a slap never came, but there was a deep mean laughter. I felt a huge hand grab me by the collar of my shirt and lift me off the ground.

"Rachel!" He yelled down stairs. "Get me some rope and a rag!"

(...)

Mimic's (Kaycie's) POV

I had closed my eyes, trying to stay calm and waiting for the others to be ready. They should have been here by now, my 'wolf night vision' had already kicked in. A hand touched my shoulder lightly. I looked up and saw my brother. He was wearing his cobra issued armor for his wings. The armor is really thin, so that it doesn't keep him from flying. His armor covered his torso and went over the top part of his wings. Strapped to both of his thighs were two pistols. Those were what had given him his name "Sidearms."

Those who were birds and horses tended to get better armor and clothing than those of us who were wolves, snakes, foxes, and other creatures.

"We will get her back." He comforted.

I nodded and he took his hand off my shoulder.

"Do you know where they've taken her?" He asked me.

I shook my head. "No, but as I said before, I will tear that town apart if I have too."

"Well, you won't have too. After we got back I sent Talon and Skyhigh to track her. And guess where she ended up?"

"I don't have the patience to guess right now."

"Hm, well anyway the renegades took her to the local vet. We can get in there, open the cage, then get out. It should be an easy job."

My spirit lifted a bit. At least Chrissie wouldn't be hurt there.

"Still bring everyone just in case. I am going to go ahead, see if I can get her myself."

Sidearms nodded. "Oh, by the way, you might need this." He handed me my old combat knife and headed back. I strapped the knife to my waist and stood up and was about to toss the ladder down the tree when someone tapped my shoulder.

"You aren't going alone."

I looked behind me. It was Raider. She was donned in the same kind of clothes I was wearing. The only difference was her clothes and mask were russet like her fur. She had daggers strapped to her wrists and small throwing knifes strapped to both arms and both of her thighs.

"You going to come with?" I asked.

"You bet cha'." She said. I was about to protest, but she stopped me. "Look I know you really want to get Chrissie back, but if you are going in without back up, then you are really stupid. What if it was a trap? Huh? What then?"

I thought about this for a second, Raider was right. I was being stupid.

"You're right. Sorry." I said.

"No prob. Now let's go get your niece back, yeah?"

I tossed the ladder down and we both headed down.

"You know they way?" She asked.

"Yeah." I replied. She grunted in response. We both morphed and silently ran all the way to the clinic. Once we got there, I breathed a sigh of relief. The clinic lights were still on. It was just a matter of walking in and grabbing Chrissie and leaving.

"Let me get the door for you madam." Raider joked. She opened the door and I walked in. There was nobody at the front desk. We quietly passed it and made our way to the back. There were two different halls.

"You go to the right, I'll go to the left." I suggested. Raider nodded and we each took our side. My hallway had four doors. Two of which were only examining rooms. The other two were the ones with animals in them. Most of them were either fast asleep or just being quiet and looking horribly bored. I looked up and down the isles, none of then contained Chrissie.

I went to the next room. Again going to all the aisles and meticulously checking each cage. Again none of then held Chrissie. I headed back to meet Raider at the front. I hoped and prayed that when I turned the corner, Raider would be standing there and little Chrissie would be right next to her.

I paused at the corner. There was a shadow on the floor. Was it Raider's? I looked closely then realized that something was wrong. This shadow didn't have Raider's wolf ears, nor did I remember a time when Raider hid behind a corner, with a... letter opener?

I took a deep breath and quickly stepped out of the corner. I grabbed the hand holding the letter opener and put my hand over the person's mouth. I got a look at my would be assailant. It was a woman. She looked like she was in her mid thirties with short curly hair. She was breathing quickly, her eyes wide with terror. I twisted her wrist and the letter opener fell from her hand with a clatter. Raider came into the room.

"I couldn't find Chrissie. How 'bout-" She saw me holding the letter opener on the floor and me covering her mouth. "So you didn't find her either."  
I shook my head. Raider motioned to the woman. "Well, I'll bet she does."

I looked at the woman. "I am going to uncover your mouth. Now I want you to stay silent and speak only if I ask you too. Got it!" I growled.

The woman nodded fearfully. I uncovered her mouth and she stayed true to her word. She didn't utter so much as a peep.

"Now what is your name." I asked her.

"I...I... I'm n...not telling you anything you...you...freak." She said.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, play it your way. Just tell me where the girl is. And don't tell me you don't know. You townspeople have real keen eyes for knowing if some one is one of "our kind". I said scornfully.

She didn't say anything. She was starting to shake and her knees were starting to quiver.

I took a deep breath and spoke calmly. "I'm not going to hurt you. Just tell me where the girl is."

"She...she...I...I gave her to Errol."

My eyes narrowed. "The guy who tried to shot me at the store!"

The woman let out a squeak of fright, but nodded an affirmative.

"Tell us where he lives." Raider said.

The woman shook her head.

Raider got uncomfortably close to her. "I said Tell. Us. Where. He . Lives." She said in a dangerously low voice. The frightened woman pointed a shaky arm out at the door.

"He..He lives to the east of here...just a few m...mi...miles away."

Raider backed off and the woman fear overloading her senses, fainted clean away. I caught her and threw a frustrated glance at Raider. She just shrugged and grabbed a chair. I seated the woman in the chair and Raider and I left the building.

Just outside, Sidearms and about fifteen others were waiting outside.

"So was Chrissie in there?" Sidearms questioned.

I shook my head "No, she is with the guy that shot at me this afternoon."

There were some gasps and some murmurs from the group.

"You know where he lives?" Sidearms asked.

I nodded.

"Lead the way sis." He said.

We all morphed and had someone happened to pass by the animal clinic they would have to rub their eyes to make sure they weren't seeing things. They would have seen about five wolves, two of which had two snakes wrapped around their front legs, an eagle, two hawks, and three horses.

They all followed me as I lead the way to Chrissie's captor. On the way we passed by an inn. It looked small, but in the parking lot was a huge van. We didn't stop to look at it, but it looked like it had the same build like a cobra car.

It was about one and a half miles past the inn when we finally reached the house that I was sure was the man "Errol" lived. How did I know? I could smell the stench of beer all around that house.

Everyone morphed back into their human forms.

"Okay everyone. This is the plan. We are going in through the front. The backyard looks like it has a balcony. It's too high off the ground to jump to and the window is up high. Even Sidearms won't be able to get though the window, on account that the window is locked from the. We want the least possible damage done as possible. Besides, if Chrissie is in that room I don't want glass sprayed around in there is that understood?"

Everyone nodded.

Just as we were getting up a shot rang out. A clump of grass to my left flew into the air.

"Alright trespassers. That was just a warnin' shot. The next one is going through your hearts!"

"Hand over what you have stolen from us and nobody will get hurt!" Sidearms yelled back.

"You want the little devil spawn?! Well you'll have to come in here and get her you bunch of freaks!"

More shots rang out and we all scattered.

"We are going to have a hell of a time!" Raider shouted to me.

"Yeah, no kidding!" I yelled back.

For the most part we were pinned down. Whenever one of us even popped our heads up for even a second, three or four rounds would be aimed at us. It was only after ten shots, when he was reloading, we could move closer to the house.

For about twenty rounds it went on like this until they came. It was the second time I had to dodge that stupid truck. It stopped right in front of the house, blocking a clear shot to the front door. It was them, the renegades. I could only assume they had heard the shots and that was why they were here. Errol was inside probably explaining how he was innocent and how we were assaulting him. Conveniently leaving out that he had Chrissie hostage in his house.

However, the coming of the truck did have one use. It provided them with a blind spot. I ran all the way to the truck, Raider and a fellow tribes man named Whip followed suit. I crawled under the car and made my way to the edge of the porch.

I pricked my ears forward and strained to hear what was going on inside the house.

"Okay guys, we need to keep the perimeter checked. Those trespassers could be anywhere." A male voice said.

"Who would have thought that some people would go this far to steal a man's exotic pet." Another, deeper, male voice said.

So that was what Errol told them. We were after his exotic pet. I growled and reached for my retractable spear. I paused for a moment, then thought of a different idea.

"Guys." I whispered.

"What?"

"I am going to rush in. You guys rush in after me, distract them get back out. I should already have Chrissie, I'll be able to track her by her scent. got it?"

"On your mark." Whip hissed.

I paused for a moment. "Mark!"

I rushed out from under the car, kicked the front door in and rushed the first man I saw. It was the blond renegade, Conrad Hauser. I made a mad dash and attempted to tackle him and as I expected he simply grabbed my arms and used my momentum against me. He rolled onto his back and used his legs to push me backward. I hit a wall and fell with a thud, but before anyone could come and fight me, Raider and Whip had come though the door shrieking and howling wildly. This gave me all the time I needed to pick myself up off the floor and track Chrissie's scent upstairs. I followed it all the way to the last room. I threw open the door and there in the dark room, kneeling on the floor, hands and feet tied, gag in her mouth, was Chrissie.

She gave a muffled yell of happiness when she saw me. I pulled out my hunting knife and cut the ropes binding her hands and feet. I took the gag out of her mouth. he smiled and threw her arms around my neck in a fierce hug. I hugged her tightly back.

"Are you okay? Did anyone hurt you?"

"No, but the guy called Mr. Errol, he slapped me a couple of times." She replied. My blood boiled at this, but she hugged me even tighter and my anger melted a little.

"Can we go home now?" She asked.

"Yes. We jut need to get out of here." I answered.

I looked around the room. There was a window, but I wasn't sure if it was the window I had see outside. Chrissie let out a peep and I turned around. A woman had Chrissie held against her and a gun pointed at Chrissie's head.

My vision suddenly went red with fury and I jumped at the woman. I grabbed the gun and threw it to the side. I pushed Chrissie out of the way and kicked the woman out of the door. I slammed it and leaned my body against it to hold it shut.

"Chrissie." I said. "I need you to open that window and tell me what you see outside. Okay? Can you do that?"

She nodded and rushed to the window. She tried and tried to open it, but it was stuck. I left my position at the door to help her. I was no more than half way to the window when the door burst open.

"Stop right were you are!" A female voice ordered.

I stopped and slowly turned around. It was a woman with red hair. Another renegade, Shana O'Hara if I wasn't mistaken.

I narrowed my eyes. "Do not get into affairs you don't understand." I snapped. I slowly inched backwards and Shana inched forward, her gun aimed at my heart. When I hit the window I stopped. I slowly put my hands behind my back and started feeling for the latches.

"If you know so much about the situation, would you care to explain it?" I asked, trying to stall.

"Errol here got a fox as an exotic pet. You and your gang of "forest freelancers" came here to set it free." She said. "Why would you try to set it free. It is domesticated and happy here."

"Let me tell you some thing, renegade. She is not happy here. Even if she was allowed here she would not be happy." I said.

Shana's face showed a puzzled expression, but then hardened.

My fingers had found the clasps. I pinched them together and slowly lifted them up. Chrissie peered outside and whispered "There are some small wooden beams on the side of the house. There is a pool about five feet away from it. I can see Uncle Sidearms though. He is looking right at us."

I nodded. Chrissie pushed the window up more.

"Stop right there you little devil." A familiar voce said. The a light was turned on and the room was instantly brightened. It was Errol with the familiar 9mm pistol pointed at me.

I stepped away from the window. Placing myself between Chrissie and the gun.

"So nice of you to try and rescue your little friend. But it all ends here, freak."

I narrowed my eyes, but said nothing.

"Where's the fox we're suppose to be protectn'?" The renegade, Nikki Lee, asked.

"You haven't seen though his lie, have you?" I said calmly.

"What are you talking about.?" Shana said.

Errol grinned maliciously . "You, girl, take off the mask so that my guests here can see."

I didn't hesitate to undo the fastenings on my mask and take it off my face. Shana and the others gasped she. They saw that my eyes and ears were actually a part of me and not the mask. Chrissie even came forward and peered out from behind my leg, showing her ears, tail, and eyes.

Shana turned on Errol. "You lied to us! These are people not pets!"

Errol scowled. "People? People? You think these freaks are people! Look at them they aren't human, more animal than anything else."

I heard an eagle cry from outside, it was Sidearms. I looked down and whispered to Chrissie, "In twenty seconds, Uncle Sidearms is going to be right outside. I am going to distract these people. You have to get outside and go with Uncle Sidearms. Understood?"

"Yes." Chrissie whispered back.

O'Hara and Hauser were arguing with Errol and it was starting to get heated. There was another eagle cry and Chrissie slowly made her way to the window. Soon there was a rustle if feathers outside.

"Go!" I shouted.

Chrissie started to scramble out the window. I ran toward the arguing group. Errol saw Chrissie climbing out the window. He pushed Shana out of the way and raised his gun. I was there just in time though. I grabbed the muzzle of the gun and pushed it away from Chrissie's direction. A shot went off, but it went far to the right. The woman who had been in the room earlier was suddenly there. She must have stood behind the group. She pointed her gun at me, but Nikki had grabbed the guy's muzzle and moved it. She fired the gun.

It felt as if a fire had burned though my left shoulder. Blood ran freely from the bullet hole and dripped onto the floor. A fox barked outside, Chrissie was safe. I punched Errol across the jaw, gripped my injured shoulder, the ran and dove though the open window. I rolled on the short balcony and then popped back up. The pool Chrissie had been talking about was as close as she had said it was. I backed up a bit, morphed, then ran to jump into the pool. I was in mid air when I heard yet another gun shot and felt a searing pain in my right leg. I gnashed my teeth together as I hit the cold water.

Adrenaline over rid pain and I swam to the other side. I pulled myself out of the pool and limped as fast as I could into the direction of the woods. Things were starting to blur. I wiped the water out of my eyes and shook my head. Things cleared up a little, but not by much. I paused for a moment and took out my knife. I cut the sleeves off my shirt and tied the strips together and wrapped it around my bleeding shoulder. I took the excess and tied it around my leg. This wouldn't stop the bleeding all together, but it would prevent me from losing more blood. While wrapping the makeshift gauze around my wounds, I noticed that the bullet in my shoulder had gone in and out, but bullet in my leg hadn't.

'Damn, that's going to be a pain to remove later.' I thought to myself.

I considered morphing to get to the forest faster, but decided against it. How much faster is a wolf with two shot legs and me with a shot leg and shoulder? The speeds are about the same, severely slow.

My ears swiveled behind me, I didn't hear anything. I continued to limp for what seemed like hours on end before I finally reached the forests edge. By now, my shock had worn off and the bullet wounds were starting to feel like they were on fire. I looked down at my leg. The 'gauze' looked soaked. I made it about twenty yards into the forest when the burn of my injuries caused me to collapse against a nearby tree. My breathing was beginning to sound labored and my leg burned and smarted. I had to get the bullet out. I slowly unwrapped my leg and get a look at the entry wound. It was about the width of my thumb, I must have torn it wider and wider when I was limping.

I poised my index finger over the hole. I took a deep breath and stuck my finger inside. It was as if my finger was a hot poker. I gnashed my teeth together and dug deeper trying to find and measure how far the bullet was. I finally touched it. My whole finger was practically in the hole. I slowly pulled my finger out, despite my brain screaming for me to just rip my finger out and scream bloody murder. Once my finger was out I leaned heavily against the tree, breathing hard, and my leg shaking. My eye lids began to feel heavy and droop. I shook myself. If I passed out now, then I would bleed out.

I heard leaves rustle not ten yards away. I tried to reach for my spear that was still at my waist, but I couldn't even get my arm to move. I cursed to myself and was forced to sit motionless as the rustling drew closer. I closed my eyes just waiting for what ever it was to come out of the bushes. The rustles got closer and closer until the noise just stopped.

I opened my eyes a crack, then opened them wide in realization. It was the black clothed man from the store. He just stood there looking down at me from behind a silver mask. Now getting the chance to just stare, he looked like a ninja.

I smirked, "You here to end it or take me alive?"

The ninja shook his head.

"So what are you doing here then?." I asked. A sudden explosion of pain came from my leg and I pushed my head back against the tree and gripped my leg tightly.

The man silently knelt at my side and went to grab the hand that was clutching my leg.

"The hell are you doing?" I mumbled over the pain.

The ninja didn't reply and moved my hand away from the bullet hole. He started at it for a minute. He looked at me and pointed to his index finger and then to the bullet hole.

"No point. Its deep, you're going to need tweezers if you want to get it out." I grunted.

The man shook his head and again pointed to the bullet hole then his finger.

"You want to try and get it out anyway?"

The ninja nodded.

I took a deep breath. "Alright. If you think you can."

The ninja nodded and used one hand to hold my leg steady and the other the poked into the hole. I hissed at the sudden pain and held my leg down with him to stop myself from twitching. He dug around in the hole as I had done before. He pulled his finger out faster than I had though.

"Did you get it?" I groaned.

He shook his head slowly.

"S'all right. I didn't really expect you to be able to anyway. Like I said before it's too deep to pull out with your fingers."

He stayed by my side for a few minutes then he quickly stood up.

"What?"

He motioned that he was going to leave, then do something else I didn't really understand.

"Ummm...okay." I said.

THe ninja nodded than ran back the way he had come. I looked up at the moon, it was almost full. The moon is always the prettiest when it is full. I unwrapped my shoulder and looked at the neat hole. If there was one good thing about guns, it was that they made clean holes, no ragged edges like daggers and other bladed weapons can. I retied the wound and waited for the ninja man to come back.

I would swivel my ears in different directions to see if I could hear anything. Nothing. A few minutes later, I heard a rustling in the bushes. I looked to my right, was it the ninja?

"Aunty?" A little voice sounded.

"Chrissie?"

"Yes it's me!"

I laughed a little. "Where are you? Come out here."

A little figure darted out from a bush and sure enough it was Chrissie.

"What are you doing out here? I thought Sidearms took you back home."

"He did! I snuck away to find you. That's what you did for me!" She exclaimed proudly.

I can't say that I was happy, on account that she snuck away from safety after I had rescued her, but I was touched.

"Come here and sit by me. Just be careful." I said.

Chrissie nodded cheerfully, but then her face fell when she saw my shoulder and my leg. "I got you hurt Aunty!"

"No you didn't. It was the man with the gun. It's not your fault...It's okay, don't cry!"

Small tears were running down Chrissie's face. I put my good arm around her and pulled her into a one-armed hug.

"Shhhh, it's okay." I comforted.

"But...but your hurt. What if you die?" She sniffled.

"I am not going to die. I'm going to be okay. Once your mom gets me fixed up, I just have to sleep and then the wounds will heal. It's okay."

Chrissie nodded. Her face lit up a little and she let out a scream. Not a horror scream, a fox scream or 'Vixen's Scream.' She did this several times and then stopped.

"Now my mommy and Uncle Sidearms can get here faster!" She explained.

I ruffled her hair. "What would I do if I didn't have a smart niece like you?"

Chrissie giggled and snuggled against my good shoulder.

We stayed like this for a little while. Then I heard a braying in the distance. I strained my ears to identify the sound.

"Dogs!" I shouted.

"What?"

"Chrissie you have to go." I urged.

"No! I want to stay here with you!" She said, stubbornly crossing her arms.

"No. You are going. You already called for everyone to come. I will be fine." I forced her to stand up and I gave her a shove away. She looked at me with huge watery eyes.

"Go, I'll be okay. Get your mom and Sidearms and you can come back okay?"

She hesitated.

"Go!" I shouted.

Her lip trembled, but she turned tail and took off in a full on sprint. I forced myself up and stood, leaning against the tree for support. I took the spear off my waist and gripped it tightly. The baying of dogs got closer, by that number of pitches in barks, I guessed about five dogs.

Closer and closer the howling and baying got, the more my thoughts drifted to the ninja and to Chrissie. Would either one of them be here in time, or were they both going to come back to my spot and find my torn and bloody body? Well actually Sidearms or Feather would probably cover Chrissie's eyes before she saw me.

A twig snapped. I immediately rolled, to my leg's displeasure, to the right and saw a dog fly right into the tree. It yelped as it collided with the tree and fell to the floor. I extended my spear to its full five foot length and held it defensively in front of me. The dog got back up and again charged straight for me. I swung my spear and it struck the dog full across the muzzle. There was a loud 'crack' and the dog howled in pain, it's jaw was hanging as if on a hinge. I dispatched it with a swift thrust between the rips. I was already beginning to tire and my leg was starting to throb and pinch, blood running like a little river.

There was more snapping and out of the bushes came four more dogs. These dogs were smarter though. Instead of rushing me,one at a time, they attacked in pairs or threes while a fourth would sneak up behind me. I defended against them pretty well given the state I was in. After about five more minutes of fighting, only two dogs lay dead. The three dogs still showed no signs of being tired, while I was shaking and breathing like a wounded elk.

"Come on." I growled in their tongue. "Is that all you've got?"

The three dogs growled and one of them jumped straight at my throat. It simply suck my spear in front of me and let the dog spear himself with his own momentum. The last two dogs stayed perfectly still, growling and snarling, but still. I separated my spear into tow and quickly threw one at one of the dogs. My spear imbedded itself in the dogs side and it fell backward onto the ground, whining and whimpering. The last dog took this opportunity to rush at me and bowl me over. I stuck my spear in between its jaws, then I took my knife from my hip and shoved the blade between its ribs. It let out a howl before going limp. I tossed the dog off of me and sat up. My bullet holes were really starting to ache and hurt now. I was surprised that it didn't hurt as much as before. It was probable because of the combination adrenalin and shock.

I heard a metallic click behind me.

"Got ya."

"No!" A little voice sounded. I turned around just in time to see Chrissie perform a tackle that would have put a pro football player to shame.

Errol toppled over, but was not phased for long. He simply pushed Chrissie off of him and stood up.

He pointed the gun at her.

"No!" I shouted.

"No more interruptions." He said.

A single gun shot sounded.

* * *

**Well guys that is Chapter 2. Thanks for reading! Don't forget to leave a review.**


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